Bostoner Torah Insights: Bostoner ‘Chassidus’ in Hebrew and English: Parshas Nitzavim – 27 Elul 5785
Bostoner Torah Insights - Yerushalayim
Bostoner Torah Insights
Bostoner ‘Chassidus’ in English
Parshas Nitzavim – 27 Elul 5785
Bostoner Rebbe shlit”a – Yerushalayim
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In Parshas Nitzavim, Rashi explains that when Moshe Rabbeinu said, “Not with you alone do I contract this covenant…but with those who are here today…and with whoever is not here with us today” (Devarim 29:13), he is including future generations. In my opinion, this is referring to the oath that was taken at the time of the Receiving of the Torah on Har Sinai.
The Satmar Rav, in his Sefer V’Yoel Moshe, quotes a question in the name of the Sefer Akeidah: How is it possible to obligate future generations to keep Torah and Mitzvos, who were born after the receiving of the Torah, via an oath. In the tractate of Shavuos we learn that only an adult can cause obligations via an oath, and not a minor. The Sefer Akeidah answers that this was not any ordinary ‘oath’ but a ‘covenant’.
The Shla”h HaKadosh suggests that we must be talking about an ‘oath’, as many Gemaras allude to the ‘oath’ that was taken at Har Sinai. For example, the Gemara (Shavuos 25a) states that one cannot initiate an oath on something that is already operative via the oath that was taken at Har Sinai. Thus, the Shla”h suggests that all of the souls that would exist in the future must have been present when the oath was taken during the Giving of the Torah at Har Sinai. Furthermore, not only was every soul present, but all of the bodies that would host all of these souls were also present, so that these oaths would be genuine and legitimate.
The Satmar Rav continues by quoting the Zohar that the oath at Har Sinai was administered to every potential person that would eventually be born in this world. The generation that received the Torah were so involved with the acceptance of the Torah that they didn’t notice all of the other bodies and souls that were present. This is why, according to the Satmar Rav, that the opening Pasuk of the Parsha, “Your are standing today, all of you, before Hashem Elokecha, the heads of your tribes, your elders, your officers” concludes with the general term “all the men of Yisroel” to include all of these bodies and souls of future generations.
The Gemara (Sanhedrin 38b) tells us that Adam HaRishon was shown the future leaders of the future generations. I would add that based on the language of the Gemara דור דור ודורשיו each generation and it’s ‘expounders’, that first the generation was presented to Adam HaRishon and only afterward was the leader presented to him, since the leaders are dependent on the merits of the generation. The more worthy the generation, the greater the leader. Thus, if we see faults in our leaders, we must search for the faults within ourselves, since the leader is only a manifestation of the generation.
Similarly, the Kohen Gadol was able to enter the Holy of Holies on Yom Kippur, but only after he achieve atonement for his family and his fellow Kohanim, rather than just himself. It was the merit of Klal Yisroel that provided the opportunity for the Kohen Gadol to enter the holiest place on the holiest day of the year. It emerges that there is an obligation on every individual of Klal Yisroel to be a holy nation to Hashem Elokeinu
We may add the Yerushalmi’s words on דור דור ודורשיו, that at the time of the resurrection of the dead, every congregation will stand together with their leader. I wondered where will there be space for everyone, for example, if all the leaders of Prague would stand with their congregations. It would require an enormous space to fit them all. Accordingly, it makes sense why Chazal teach us that Yerushalayim will expand in the future to all of Eretz Yisroel at the time of Techiyas HaMasim with the coming of the Goel Tzedek, speedily in our days.--